LIGHTS OUT [REVISION 2] [INCOMPLETE]
The heavy rainfall outside pitter-pattered against the window panes as I sat and waited for my grandmother to return home. In a daze, I stared ahead at the blank television screen. It would have been on and entertaining me, if it weren’t for the storm knocking out the power. My eyes drifted to the candle sitting on the coffee table in front of me. My stomach growled. I snapped out of my boredom, and headed into the kitchen to fix up a snack. The cat, Sammy Sam, came rocketing into the kitchen just moments later, and placed herself next to her food dish. She looked up at me in anticipation. “Alright, alright.” I said, and pulled a can of cat food out from the cabinet. I cracked it open and scooped the food out with a spoon, and plopped it into her dish. She meowed in thanks, and dug her face in. With the aid of the candlelight, I made up a bowl of cereal and a glass of Kool Aid. I carried my meal into the living, and sat down to eat it. I glanced out the rain soaked window, and groaned. “I’ve been sitting here for hours. I’m getting sick of waiting.” I complained to the walls. I finished my cereal, then took the candle from the table. I headed downstairs. The stairs creaked with age, as if they were about to collapse at any given moment. I reached the bottom of the staircase, and walked to my left to enter the downstairs living room. This was grampa’s space. Speaking of grampa, he was upstairs, blissfully snoring and dreaming away. While grama and my sister Meghan where way up island, delivering something to my mom. Grama had instructed me not to fall asleep, and to ‘keep an eye on things’ while she was absent. I sat down at the computer desk, and flipped open the laptop. Despite the fact that this was a recently bought computer, and had the latest version, Windows 98, it was heavily bogged down by the weight of my sister’s downloads and virus infections. She was on it practically all day, chatting with her friends and stalking her boyfriend. She also was fond of going on downloading splurges, everything from illegal music and pirated software. But grama didn’t care. As long as she could check and send her email without any problems, she was happy. I played a bit of a word search game, when I picked up the sound of voices from outside. I shut the laptop lid, and raced up the stairs to get the door for them. I took a step outside, and saw Meghan, followed by grama, heading up the stairs onto the front lawn. Meghan fussed about her outfit being ruined as she stepped into the house. After she’d hung up her coat in the closet, she grabbed my arm, and dragged me down the hall. “Wait! What are you doing?” I said. She brought me into her room, and quietly shut the door behind her. “Sit down, there’s something you’ve got to see!” She said ecstatically. I obeyed, and sat down on her bed, while she unfolded a small slip of paper in her hands. “What’s so special about that?” I started. She quickly read over whatever was written on the paper, and her eyes lit up with glee. “Let me guess. It’s another stupid Backstreet Boys concert.” I said. The happiness instantly dissolved from her face, and she rolled her eyes, and sighed in disapproval. “Whatever. Here, read this.” She said, and impatiently waited for me to take the paper from her. “I’ve got to go check my messages.” She stood up, and swung her door open. She directed me out of her room with an angry frown and a finger pointing towards the hall. I left her room, and watched her head downstairs. “Only ten minutes, Meghan!” Grama shouted from the kitchen as I walked into my room, and flew onto my bed. I examined the black, printed letters on the card.
‘In recognition of your achievements and undeniable coolness, I Lindsay, on behalf of everyone here at ReDart, invite you to become a full-fledged member at our fantastic club. Please email me at the email address written below. I look forward to hearing from and seeing you soon!’
~ ReDart Executive and Primary Boss, Lindsay Glass
Now this was something worth rolling your eyes over! Just typical Meghan, with all of her friends, clubs, and ‘cool people only’ stuff. I placed the invitation down on my bed side table, then reached forward to switch off the light. I listened to grama and Meghan quarrel over the computer and bedtime, until I finally drifted off to sleep.
“Good morning, good morning! And how are you this morning?” I heard grama say, and I slowly opened my eyes. She always would wake and greet me with that in the morning. “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine!” I replied, my voice still heavy with sleepiness. She chuckled, and pulled away the curtains covering my window to let the morning light in. “Get dressed! First day of school today! Breakfast is waiting too!” She said before she left my room. She didn’t need to tell me twice! I quickly put everything I needed neatly into my backpack, and placed it near the front door, before I even thought about breakfast. As I entered the kitchen, I felt my mouth watering at the sight of the Alpha Bits on the table. I poured myself a glass of milk and made up some cereal. Meghan’s bowl sat empty and untouched at the other end of the table. She was probably too caught up with her chatting on the computer, no doubt. I finished my cereal, then double checked the contents of my backpack. “Oh no! It’s already eight thirty! We’re going to be late!” I heard grama yell from her room, and soon after come thumping down the hall. “Meghan! Get off the computer! We’re leaving right now!” She called down to Meghan. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She replied. I swung my backpack onto my back, and felt butterflies in my stomach, excited and fearing my new school. My old school, Happy Valley Elementary, had mysterious burnt down to the ground last year. My sister and I and most of the other kids who attended that school were transferred to Glen Lake Elementary.
LIGHTS OUT [Original] [COMPLETE]